The chronicle of a lifelong canoe journey to New Orleans

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Day Five

It was hard to leave our warm and dry hotel room to head back on the river. The forecast was for winds up to 14 miles an hour. But once up, we had our gear packed in no time and a hotel shuttle returned us to the marina. We took down the wet tent, chatted with our host, Katie, and learned that her father had dug out the marina 54 years ago. All in the family. She graciously agreed to take photos of us as we headed out. The day quickly became one of our favorites. The current helped against the wind and the wind itself was not too difficult. We were on the river at about 8:50. We paddled a total of 26 miles, many more than we had even hoped for. The day brought some other pleasant and interesting surprises. A fish jumped over the boat right on Karen’s lap. The wind was at our back enough to sail for a while. And we were treated to some cookies and scones by the woman who owns The Cake Stand in Henderson, KY. The day ended with the discovery of a cute island campsite. We looked forward to a campfire and s’mores as well as cooking a hot dinner and the turnips and beets we had bought a couple of days earlier from an organic farmer who pulled them right out of the soil for us. We were disappointed to discover that the lighter had gotten wet and would not work. Karen did have a magnesium striking stone with her and amazingly was able, after a couple of attempts, to keep a small fire going. We built it up and enjoyed all of the above including not one but two s’mores. We felt we had earned them! A beautiful sunset was the icing on the cake.